Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Clune for raising this important matter and for the pertinent points she made. I am replying on behalf of the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney.

As Deputy Clune is aware, the report of the expert group on mental health policy, A Vision for Change, was published in January 2006. The report addressed all aspects of mental health services, including services for those with eating disorders. A number of recommendations were made concerning mental health services for people with eating disorders. These include support for health promotion initiatives that encourage greater community and family awareness of eating disorders, the further development of primary and community care services and the provision of full multidisciplinary teams in a national centre for eating disorders for complex cases that cannot be managed by local community mental health teams. Responsibility for implementing these recommendations rests with the Health Service Executive.

The Health Service Executive has established an implementation group to ensure that mental health services develop in a synchronised and consistent manner across the country and to guide and resource service managers and clinicians in making the recommendations a reality. The Government has accepted the report of the expert group as the basis for the future development of mental health services. An additional €26.2 million was allocated for the further development of mental health services in 2006 and a further €25 million was provided in 2007, bringing the total allocation for 2007 to €1 billion.

A total of €7.95 million of the additional 2007 funding has been provided to significantly improve both community and hospital-based child and adolescent services and facilitate the provision of early intervention services. The multidisciplinary nature of existing child and adolescent mental health teams will be enhanced, with eight new teams being developed in 2007. The implementation of A Vision for Change requires the recruitment of 40 additional child and adolescent mental health teams. It is envisaged that these will be provided on a phased basis over a five year period — 16 of which have already been funded.

With regard to specific funding for eating disorders, €750,000 of the additional funding in 2007 was allocated for the development of designated eating disorder services. A total of €500,000 has been allocated to enhance the service in the Elm Mount Unit, St. Vincent's Hospital, Dublin, which will provide a national service to support local mental health services in addressing eating disorders. The balance of €250,000 has been allocated to the Health Service Executive, south area, to commence the development of an eating disorder service. The Health Service Executive also works with the independent sector to provide specialist care on an inpatient or outpatient basis, which can result in referrals to specialised eating disorder services.

An independent monitoring group was established early last year to monitor and assess progress on the implementation of A Vision for Change. The group's first report was published in May 2007. The report acknowledged that 2006 was a year of significant challenge and change for the mental health services. However, in recognising that some positive developments had taken place, the report highlighted a number of issues which would require further attention. These include a systematic approach to implementation of A Vision for Change and clarity in responsibility for implementation in the Health Service Executive.

In acknowledging the need to provide a dedicated and co-ordinated response to A Vision for Change, the Health Service Executive appointed a full-time project manager to progress the prioritised implementation plan. This plan, which will include a timed and prioritised set of short, medium and longer-term goals, is expected to be finalised in the coming weeks.

I assure Deputy Clune the Government is fully committed to the development of services for those suffering from eating disorders and to ensuring that services will continue to be improved and enhanced in the coming years.

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